. >> reporter: but as "the new york times" conor dougherty, who helped break the story found out -- >> solano is an unusual county. >> reporter: the truth was trainer than the rumors. >> i got a tip from someone that what was behind the locked doors was the richest people in the world quietly buying all this farmland. r reid hoffman, steve jobs widow, marc andreessen of andreesen horowitz venture capital firm, a who's who of silicon valley was involved. >> reporter: something else surprising. within hours of dougherty's big scoop, this mysterious company launched a website and publicly identified itself as california forever, an ambitious plan to build a brand-new kind of city for as many as 400,000 residents. >> we knew this would be controversial when we announced the project. >> reporter: this is the guy behind. rec >> i had a hunch. >> reporter: jan sramek, a 37-year-old czech-born former goldman sachs trader turned aspiring city builder. >> you can see travis air force base. >> reporter: who has to try to convince the public that the project isn't just an oasis for billionaires o